The (middle) sound of "silence"

The answer to “The (middle) sound of "silence"” in the New York Times crossword is SCHWA — a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on August 17, 2025, a Sunday puzzle, at 106-Across. Below you'll find why that fill fits, every other answer we've recorded for this clue, and links into the puzzle it came from.

“The (middle) sound of "silence"” answer

SCHWA (5 letters)

Reveal the solution one letter at a time with the tiles above if you'd rather nudge yourself toward it than see the whole word at once. Just want it outright? The answer is SCHWA.

Why the answer is SCHWA

SCHWA is the 5-letter solution that fits "The (middle) sound of "silence"" in the NYT Crossword crossword on August 17, 2025 (106-Across). Use the letter tiles above if you'd rather reveal it one letter at a time.

What does SCHWA mean?

Reading the plain dictionary sense of SCHWA is often the fastest way to see why it answers this clue.

When else has “The (middle) sound of "silence"” appeared?

New York Times reuses clues across dates, sometimes with a different answer depending on the grid. Here's where this exact clue has shown up, and what the answer was each time — handy when you're checking whether today's fill is the only one.

August 17, 2025 (most recent) → SCHWA. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

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